


Burning Up

by magnusbicon



Series: Afire Love [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alternate Universe - Human, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Meet-Cute, Mutual Pining, Pick-Up Lines, Pre-Relationship, Smooth!Magnus, awkward!alec, soon-to-be soft boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 12:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12254208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnusbicon/pseuds/magnusbicon
Summary: "Well, at least now I know who to go to if I ever set my kitchen on fire again."orAlec and Magnus bond over a fire extinguisher.





	Burning Up

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know where this idea came from, but it makes me laugh so I had to write it. I hope you guys enjoy! ❤️

Alec remembered the exact day that he vowed to always have a fire extinguisher in his apartment. Isabelle had come over, insisting that she cook a new recipe for him that she had found on the internet, and after less than an hour the stove was in flames. It ended with everyone in the entire apartment complex having to evacuate and stand outside as the fire department put it out, and Alec having to buy a new oven and some cabinets. Needless to say, from then on he always kept a fire extinguisher- or maybe two, but he didn't tell Isabelle that- in his apartment. Just in case.

So when he opened his door to hear a beautiful, frantic man ask him if he had a fire extinguisher, he was all too happy to share the wealth. He rushed back into his apartment, pulling the tool out in record time. What he didn't expect, however, was to be pulled into the apartment directly across from his.

"I just realized that I have no idea how to use a fire extinguisher," the man, apparently Alec's neighbor, said. Alec had always wondered who lived there, and only knew the man's initials: M.B. However, that was not of importance in that moment, considering smoke was beginning to billow out into the living room from the kitchen.

Alec took a deep breath and ran inside, quickly finding the fire and pulling the pin on the extinguisher. He aimed the nozzle and squeezed, white foam falling over the flames and putting them out immediately. The two of them stood there for a moment once all was said and done, staring silently at the damage. The other man was the first one to speak.

"Well, at least now I know who to go to if I ever set my kitchen on fire again." His voice was smooth, velvety, and Alec wanted to clutch it in his fist and keep it for a while. He couldn't think of a proper response, so he just smiled, his eyes shifting over to take in his neighbor once more. He wore a maroon shirt with gold threaded through it, most of it unbuttoned, which left his chest exposed. Necklaces hung over the open space, and Alec practically drooled.

He had never seen a man so absolutely stunning, and he had no idea how to function in a normal fashion, so he did something that immediately made him cringe. He stuck his hand out for a handshake, and ended up smacking his arm into the kitchen counter in the process. All the while his neighbor just watched in amusement, a smirk growing on his face.

"I'm Magnus Bane," he said, taking pity on Alec and shaking his hand firmly. "I usually try to make better first impressions on extremely attractive men but I suppose you can't win them all."

Alec was sure he looked horribly idiotic as he stared at Magnus in shock, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He had just called him extremely attractive without blinking an eye, which was something that had never happened to Alec before. He was not well-versed in the art of flirting, or really speaking coherently around attractive people in general, and the fact that Magnus did so in such a smooth manner froze him to the spot. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was still holding Magnus' hand despite the fact that the handshake had come and gone. He pulled away instantly, his heart pounding so hard he was sure everyone in the building could hear it.

"I'm sorry, I gotta- I'm gonna go," he stammered out, pointing his thumb over his shoulder and backing away from Magnus quickly. The second he got back into his own apartment he shut the door and did the only acceptable thing that he could do in that moment. He face-palmed and dialed Isabelle's number, walking further into his apartment to make sure Magnus didn't somehow overhear him through the door. She picked up on the third ring, her cheerful voice coming through the phone for about 3 seconds before Alec interrupted.

"Hey big bro-"

"I just met my neighbor for the first time, the one who lives across from me, and I made a complete fool of myself, Iz. He's the hottest guy I have ever laid eyes on and instead of playing it cool I  _shook his hand_. Who does that? He was so smooth and I was the equivalent of a brick wall. I've only lived here for a few weeks and I've already messed up." The words went rushing out of his mouth so fast that he barely knew what he was saying, and it wasn't until he stopped talking that he heard Isabelle's laugh through the speaker. "It isn't funny," Alec said, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance.

"Tell me everything that happened," Isabelle said, and Alec could tell that she was rolling her eyes, but he went on anyway, filling her in.

"He's clearly into you, Alec. Not only did he specifically seek you out, but he literally said you were extremely attractive. Maybe he found your awkwardness endearing," she teased, and Alec shook his head, holding back the blush that threatened to rise on his cheeks even though no one else could see it anyway.

"He doesn't know me. I didn't even know his name before today," Alec reasoned. There was no way that Magnus could already be interested in him, and even if he was it was only a matter of time until he realized he was making a mistake. Alec had only been in a few relationships in his lifetime, and he still hadn't gotten the hang of it yet. However, there always was that little voice in the back of his mind saying, " _Maybe you just haven't found the right person yet_."

"Go back over there and let him get to know you, then."

"Why the hell would I do that?" Alec asked, shaking his head even though she couldn't see him.

"Because you want to," she answered simply, and continued before Alec could protest. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have called me and ranted about it. You never tell me things like this. So get over yourself and go talk to him, and give me the juicy details later." With that she hung up, leaving Alec standing in the middle of his apartment feeling extremely salty, not because he felt abandoned, but because he knew she was right.

He paced back and forth for a while, debating, until he finally worked up the nerve to act. He was much too embarrassed and awkward to go back over there and try to speak like Isabelle advised him to, but he could convey his message in a different way. It was stupid and Alec had to force himself to go to bed right after doing it because he couldn't bear to hear the inevitable laughter at his expense, but he did it nonetheless.

His spare fire extinguisher sat outside of Magnus' door, a note taped to the side with Alec's scribbled handwriting saying, "Just in case," and his phone number written beneath it. As small a gesture as it was, it was the riskiest thing Alec had ever done to impress someone, and as he laid in bed with his eyes scrunched closed, his heart raced tirelessly. When he finally fell asleep it was well after 2 am, and it was far from satisfying.

It seemed that his alarm went off only minutes after he had slipped under, and in his half-asleep state he almost didn't notice the text as he went to turn the horrible noise off. However, the unknown number caught his eye just before he went to lock his phone once more, and in a split second he was awake, his heart beating at full speed yet again. He opened the message and rubbed his eyes, swearing he had read it wrong, but when he lowered his hands the message was the same.

_Is this your way of telling me that you're going to set my heart aflame? Because I can assure you that you already have._

In that moment, as a wide grin spread across his face despite the previous stress and lack of sleep, Alec promised himself that he would never complain about Izzy's nonexistent cooking skills again, because if his intuition was anything to go by, then maybe- just maybe- he had finally found the right person.

**Author's Note:**

> come chat on tumblr: magnusbicon!


End file.
